Booming Chinese Demand Has Ripples Down Under In Queenslandby Patrick O'Keeffe, Special to CorpWatch April 16th, 2008A bauxite mine and a proposed refinery in northern Queensland, Australia, to be developed by a Chinese mineral company, has divided local and traditional landowners. Part of a major industrialization scheme, it has also sparked worries among environmentalists.

Playing with Children's Lives: Big Tobacco in Malawiby Pilirani Semu-Banda, Special to CorpWatch February 25th, 2008Cigarettes may be damaging not only your own health, but also that of some of the world's poorest children. Much of Malawi's thriving tobacco industry rests on the backs of exploited children, some as young as five years old.

An Uncomfortable Spotlight in Davosby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch January 31st, 2008The CEOs of three-quarters of the world's 100 largest companies have just completed an uncomfortable weekend at the tiny Swiss ski resort of Davos, while their companies' share prices nosedived on global stock markets, amid concern that the U.S. economy is staggering towards recession.

Titanium or Water? Trouble brews in Southern Indiaby Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpWatch October 24th, 2007Tata, India's largest conglomerate, wants to take 10,000 acres of land to mine ilmenite in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The plan has sparked protests by local villagers who say the project will destroy their traditional way of life and the environment.

Lessons of Empire: India, 60 Years After Independenceby Nick Robins and Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch August 14th, 200760 years after India gained independence, British capital is still exploiting poor communities in its former colony. Centuries after Britain's East India Company -- the world's first multinational -- faced protests in London, a group of villagers continue the tradition of resistance.

The Life and Death of a Border Townby David Martinez, Special to CorpWatchJune 12th, 2007Two towns in the Mexican border state of Coahuila discover the reality of "free trade" with the United States: Ramos Arizpe is still riding the boom in automobile production while Morelos has been abandoned by the denim manufacturers, as factories relocate to even cheaper production sites overseas.

Barrick Gold Mine Transforms Pacific Islandby David Martinez, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 21st, 2007Papua New Guinea, one of the world's largest islands, has fortunes in gold under its lush green mountains and a diversity of indigenous culture. The arrival of a Canadian mining company has brought violent clashes and transformed the indigenous lands forever.

A Proxy Battle: Shareholders vs. CEOsby Kevin Kelleher, Special to CorpWatchJune 13th, 2006Earnest shareholder resolutions presented at company annual general meetings on everything from human rights to executive compensation are routinely shot down in flames. But shareholder resolutions may have an effect, even in defeat.

Australia Reaps Iraqi Harvestby Marc Moncrief, Special to CorpWatchApril 4th, 2006United Nations sanctions against Saddam Hussein may have failed to end his regime but they succeeded in enriching both the Iraqi dictator and corporations able to manipulate the scandal-ridden world body's Oil-for-Food program. Among the profiteers was the Australian Wheat Board, a former state-owned monopoly, which funneled over $200 million into Saddam's coffers even as the “Coalition of the Willing” was preparing for invasion.

Happy Meals, Unhappy Workersby Aaron Glantz and Ngoc Nguyen, Special to CorpWatchMarch 6th, 2006Vietnamese workers earn less than $2 a day making stuffed animals and Happy Meal toys for U.S. consumers. An ongoing series of wildcat strikes this winter has forced the government to raise wages to prevent factories from moving to other countries.

Some Strings Attached: Cotton, Farm subsidies tie up global trade talksby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchDecember 13th, 2005West African cotton farmers are among those hardest hit by government subsidized corporate agriculture. This week in Hong Kong, trade ministers from the 148 members of the World Trade Organization meet to discusss this and other global free trade issues.

Vedanta Undermines Indian Communitiesby Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpwatchNovember 15th, 2005Vedanta, a fast growing British mining and aluminium production company founded by a billionaire expatriate Bombay businessman, threatens communities in India with environmental degradation and widespread pollution.

Mixing Occuption and Oil in Western Sahara
by Jacob Mundy, Special to CorpWatchJuly 21st, 2005Oklahoma-based Kerr-McGee's contract with Morocco to explore for oil and gain in the contested territory on the Atlantic coast of northern Africa is complicating a 30 year independence struggle.

'Tis the Season for Shareholder Activismby Jan Frel, Special to CorpWatchMay 4th, 2005Every spring, activists and investors attend annual general meetings to protest and meet face-to-face with CEOs and corporate boards. The goal is to place their agendas -- on everything from the environment to labor practices -- front and center.

World Contrastsby Eduardo Galeano, www.portoalegre2003.orgJanuary 16th, 2003Next week, thousands will descend on Porto Alegre, Brazil for the World Social Forum, under the slogan "Another World is Possible." We thought these reflections by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano on the world as it is today were a good place to start.

September 11th Didn't Change Everythingby Kenny Bruno, CorpWatchSeptember 10th, 2002A New Yorker looks at the squandered opportunities to make desperately needed changes in the American psyche and global policy following last September 11th.